Doublet

The doublet, a slightly padded short overshirt, usually buttoned down the
front, with or without sleeves, was one of the essential men's
garments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The basic form of the
doublet came from the pourpoint, a padded shirt that was originally worn
by knights under their armor. This form-fitting shirt was soon worn by
most upper-class men. While the basic shape of the doublet remained the
same, the garment was modified in many ways over the course of the several
centuries in which it was worn, thus keeping it in fashion.

The name doublet referred to the duplicate layers of material used to make
the shirt. The inner lining was usually made of linen, while the outer
layer was made of heavy silk. Depending on the current fashion, these
layers were filled with various amounts

of bombast, or padding. During the late fifteenth and early sixteenth
century padding was added to the shoulders and upper arms, making the
shoulders look very broad. One fashion of the late sixteenth century was
called a peascod-belly, which made the lower stomach area so filled with
padding that it made a man look pregnant. The doublet usually ended right
at the waist and sometimes came to a point in the front. It was worn at
first with a short skirt and later with breeches, a type of pants, and
hose.

The doublet was a key garment in the transition from the long, draped
garments of the Middle Ages to the more fitted styles of the Renaissance.
At first the doublet was buttoned all the way to the neck, but during the
late fifteenth century the neckline of the doublet opened to a wide V
shape, the better to show off the linen shirts and ruffs, or pleated
collars, that were becoming fashionable. The sleeves showed changes,
varying from tightly fitting from shoulder to wrist, to very puffy at the
upper arms. Often sleeves were separate garments that were fastened at the
shoulder, with the fasteners hidden by small wings on the doublet.
Beginning in the late fifteenth
century, doublets were one of the primary garments to use slashing, a
fashion statement that involved making small slits in the outer fabric of
the doublet and then pulling out or revealing pieces of the inner lining.